[oclug] Somewhat OT: Google's USENet archives go back to 1981!

[Ross Jordan]

> 
> Very cool.  I'm just curious as to where they got the data.

Basically, there was a company that used to produce
CD compilations of USENET (called NetNews CDs). Google
went on a hunt for such CDs -- offered to pay cash for
them, and got a reasonable response. Though likely
some people had archives on their hard drives or whatnot
as well, and may have contributed them.

There's a page at google with the info -- ironically
its down and one must use google's cache to view it:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:groups.google.com/googlegroups/archive_hunt.html

-Ross


-- 
      "Imagine a law so stupid that civil obedience becomes an 
       efficient way to fighting it" --Per Abrahamsen on the DMCA